Chess Hunt
by K. Aquaries
Summary: Wake up to an environment of controlled war, how will you remember the journey? Why the journey? A chance to grow and become what you choose to be, will you take the chance? Memories arise from a forgotten childhood, will you accept them? Find a group of people from all sides of the world, will you join them and become brothers? Only time will tell in this Chess Hunt...
1. Ghost Lights

The fields of la fauchereve have been alive for centuries, known for the fields of forget me not, otherwise called 'ghost lights' by the locals. As folklore goes, if a fortunate soul wandered here, they are touched by fate and bound to fall in love with the second person their eyes meet upon. Misfortune strikes on a poor unfortunate soul who has the same color of the ghost lights in their eyes, though it is never said what kind of misfortune, for fear of bad luck. But Alice Veneziano doesn't have eyes of the ghost lights nor is she looking for love. She looks for solace in the field of ghost lights, away to hide from the things that go bump in the night. Especially the ones looking for harm. The things in the night are the ones that love to harm Alice.

Strands of long brown hair touched her knees as she collapsed into the ghost lights. Little spigots from her doe brown eyes started to flow as she reached for air with her heaving lungs. The fields are a great distance to reach, but Alice had the stamina and she would climb mountains if it meant hiding here. Alice's head was throbbing, from the rocks thrown by the things lurking in the night. "They will not find me here," she imagined. The things in the dark could not hurt her with their menacing voices. Not in this field of ghost lights will anyone hear her sobs.

-(*)0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0(*)-

After Mass ended, it was his favorite place to admire the flowers and contemplate on the wonders God has created, but he also praises the unseen wonders of science for the beautiful blue the flowers produce. A gentle smile of an old man at peace was slowly painted on the young boy's face until he heard the sobbing of a cherub nearby. He followed the sound through the field of ghost lights until he came upon a girl same year as he, dressed in emerald in the sea of blue. Her face covered with her tiny hands to muffle the sobs and tears falling from her eyes. What has made her tragic on a beautiful night as this? Only one way to find out. He approached her quietly, and when his shadowed consumed hers, that is when he began his investigation.

"H-Hey, why are you crying?", his booming pre-pubescent voice inquired. Though he is a peaceful child from the Vatican city, he is always known for being an intimidating child in a switch of a lightbulb. The girl found that out the hard way. With a booming voice came a high shriek and sent her hiding in the ghost lights, whimpering with fear. He panicked, kneeling beside her, "No please, I am so sorry!" He cried, "Please don't cry!"

She continued trembling but lifted her head ever so slightly. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and she sniffled to keep the snot from coming out every few seconds. The boy felt sorrow, even pity for them both. She was clearly scared and crying, while he is only making it worse. He knelt beside her and scavenged the inside of his pockets looking for something to ease the situation for them both, mostly for her. After a few hasty seconds, he produced a white handkerchief intricately laced with light pastel roses. On it was the initials 'R.M' engraved in golden thread. Hesitantly, the girl lifted her trembling head to meet his gaze.

-(*)0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-00-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0(*)-

A boy with light golden hair kept under a black hat shown in the moonlight. He appeared to be dressed in black, including a black cloak. He had the eyes of the ghost lights, but the hue of the blue seemed as deep as the oceans. So much kindness in those eyes, Alice thought. Noticing the outstretched offer of a cloth handkerchief. Alice didn't want to blow her nose into it, seeing as it would be not only gross but rude. She thought it would be too much to do with a stranger she just met. Instead, she slowly accepted the handkerchief from him and used it wipe her tears. "Thank you so much," She quietly replied. It was quiet only for the young stranger to hear. Her voice was soft but it carried to his ears, and he nodded in response.

"You are welcome, miss…?" he trailed off inquiring her name.

After Handing his handkerchief back to him, "O-oh, my name is Alice," she answered nervously still. Traces of north Italian dialect rang in her voice, soft and feminine but capable of shouting great lengths if needed. The boy, of unknown origin and of action, nodded and smiled, "That quite a lovely name Alice, my name is-

"Hey look! ZER IS ZE LOZER!"

The boy was interrupted by another pre-pubescent voice, albeit male and questionably shrilly. Alice's heart stopped as she faced the source of the voice.

A young boy around Alice's age as well, hair white as snow and eyes red as deceiving blood stared back at hers. Accompanying him were two others, one identical to her, except for short hair, the one she still calls brother, and a pre-teen, long blonde hair and violet eyes behind the devil-eyed leader. These little monsters love to torment and tease her, whether it be for affection or pure malicious intent, it is often hard to tell as they blur the lines. Either way, it hurts all the same. They slowly crept towards the field, closing the distance, intending to do harm once again, along with the lines of the boogeyman's dirty work.

As the boys crept towards Alice the boy stepped towards them like a lioness protecting her cub. The devil eyes boy shouted to his lackeys, "OH, WELL LOOK WHO'S ZIS! A pipsqueak who wants to be a knight to this irrefutable brat?"

His words were like poison. They kept weakening her to the point of collapse. She was falling to her knees, ready to burst into tears once again. However, the boy in black did not falter away from her. He stood his ground and bellowed like thunder, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"


	2. Silp

A simple dream of melancholy quietly ended in the dark swallowing her memory completely of that first encounter many years ago as a child of Roman. Once a man of power tragically fell to his demonic scars. She never talks about it with anyone. Only in written letters does the virtuous maiden cope for the past 5 years. She is still unconscious and slowly she makes the journey back to the waking reality away from dreamland. When she slowly opened her eyes, a bright light hit her, throwing her back into the dark as she closed her eyes again. After opening and blinking a few times, she finally opened without the blinding sun harming her sight upon the first day. A great sky greeted her, decorated with angel cake clouds. Something wasn't right….The last place she remembered was….What was the last thing she remembered? Where was she? Alice's hands grasped the ground for grass but all she found was sand. Curious, she slowly sat up and took in the view. A beach to her left as clear as the eyes of the boy in black, its waves gently crashing onto the shore. To her right stood a massive jungle in front of her, full of many shades of luscious green towering high, much of the inside was covered by the foliage on the outer layer. The air was slightly humid, as it was a suggested tropical environment.

Alice slowly stood up on her own two legs, unsure what to do. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her suitcase just a few feet away. Walking slowly, she made her way over with the nimbleness of a newborn fawn. She was unconscious for a long time so it seemed. Why? A bigger question is 'How?' Something that can be answered given the time hopefully. Making her way over to the suitcase, she couldn't help but take in the splendor of such a beautiful environment. The green foliage reminded her of the greens in her home country, the blue ocean resembled a deep blue fabric part of a ballerina's dress from a play a long time ago. The sand reminiscences lemon gelato that wasn't exactly her favorite but still good nonetheless. All of these blended together made a perfect harmony of the elements.

When the suitcase was in front of her feet, she knelt down and opened the contents within. All her clothes suited for long travels on foot. There were her hiking shoes, simple earthy colors with dull elastic shoestrings full of too many knots. She traded her blue sketcher sandals for those hiking shoe, after placing them away in the suitcase and closing it she stood up. Alice looked back at the jungle. Her heart raced, but she had to find answers. Dragging the suitcase behind her she entered the jungle slowly.

Within it was overwhelming sounds, of bird and cicadas. There were so many shades of green in the forest it was almost like being in an emerald mine. Alice had to bear the images of banana spiders lazily waiting for dinner on their own intricate web. The long boney legs sent shudders up her spine. Alice never really liked insects. They frightened her, centipedes especially. Their long bodies, their scuttling legs and the sight of one leaves Alice immobile, paralyzed with fear. A loud rumble from the sky signaled a storm. She had better find shelter soon or else face the lightning and rain alone. It was hard, dragging the suitcase behind and some of the branches were becoming tangled in her long brown hair. Little leaves were seen in her thick locks and the branches were stopping her. She groaned, knowing she should've tied her hair up in a ponytail earlier. She set her bag down and reopened its contents searching for something. She found a pair of pink scissors with a blue hue to them. She loved her hair, always brushing it and braiding it, lacing it with ribbons. Alice's hands trembled, in a bout of nervousness she hesitated. She never had a bob or a pixie cut, only a trim to take care of the dead ends. Alice held the scissors and up to her hair, continuing to tremble. She had to force a lump down her throat and then closed the scissors in her hair. A long lock of hair fell and she felt a little loosened. She did it again, snip, and another fell down, feeling a little unrestrained. She kept going until there was nothing left to cut and she was freed from the branches. She sighed in relief and put the scissors back in her case and brought out a bottle of water. After taking a sip to hydrate, she continued on, after seeing the fluffy clouds turn dark and ominous, looming over the sky, slowly consuming it. She walked at a quicker pace and slung the suitcase over her shoulder to improve any chance of running now.

Her long legs carried her far in the emerald jungle. She could see an opening to a grassy area, away from the jungle. She finally emerged out from the jungle and placed her hands on her knees to catch the humid air. As unpleasant as the humid air was, it was a relief to her burning lungs. Much of a deer she is yet she is always lightheaded and breathless after pushing herself too hard, that much is always needing improvement. After a few minutes of regaining her breath, she took in her surroundings. It was a tiny series of concrete homes long abandoned, evidenced by the lack of life and million tiny vines growing on the concrete. She called out a 'Hello?' before being answered with a silence. Emptiness signaling the few buildings to be nothing more of a ghost town. The thunder boomed. It had arrived consuming the skies. The dark blue-grey clouds were the definition of ominous storms. Tiny teardrops from the sky began to fall. They were gentle and small, but in an instant, they were jumbo and fell hard into the grass. Alice panicked and hurried into one of the buildings as the storm cried heavily. It was a miracle the doors could still open with ease but inside was desolate and cold. The lack of humans interacting was haunting. It was like being trapped in a horror movie, the only way out is forward, even though it might mean your death at the hands of a killer you thought you called a friend. Nonetheless, she was safe in here. In a hallway near the stairs appeared to be a crate with a huge tomato sticker plastered on the front. Smiling she pondered if there was anything in the building to make pasta with. She carried her case up the stairs to a room of its own, complete with a kitchen, a living room, and a bed. Sadly it was all empty, without a sign of life to be seen or heard. There was only decay in the walls and in the floors, she could smell it with trouble as the stench was fouler than moldy cheese. It was the stench of bacterial contamination. From the corner of, Alice noticed her reflection in an old mirror staring back at her. Within it there was Alice and she stared back with chopped hair that reached only her ears and a thin long curl that stuck out from the left side. She sighed in panicked disappointment. It wasn't intentional to cut that short, but the deed was done in order to move forward. She just hoped it would grow back quickly.

In the distant background, she heard a whistle. Like a policeman's antique whistle to alert others to fugitive. It didn't come from the room or below. It came from the outside world. She opened the screen door that led out to a miniature patio and walked out to see what it was. The sky had stopped crying, but there was thunder in the distance. It didn't come from the clouds and this kind of thunder made the ground shake and rumble underneath the earth. If it wasn't raining, then what was falling out the sky? From what only her eyes could see, they appeared to be pellets the size of dogs. She stared at them in horror as they made that whistling sound, the realization dawned on her.

They were bombs.

She ran back into the room and grabbed her suitcase. The whistling grew louder and louder and it was only a matter of time before they came into contact with the earth. She ran back into the room and grabbed her suitcase. The whistling grew louder and louder and it was only a matter of time before they came into contact with the earth. She hurried down the stairs and frantically looked around for some kind of shield to protect from the barrage of bombs. The whistling grew louder. Every second counted. Alice noticed the tomato crate and a door leading to a basement. Louder. She kicked the crate down the stairs to the bottom and hurried with haste. Louder. Luckily her thunder thighs didn't break the wood for it remained intact. LOUDER. She threw open the crate and threw in her case. LOUDER. She hurried as heart pounded against her ribcage. LOUDER. She slipped in the crate, with there being barely any room to spare. LOUDER. Her whole body trembled as she slipped on the lid. LOUDER. The lid closed and she was left in the dark.

The bombs made contact and exploded upon impact. Some of the bombs demolished chunks of the old buildings. Some demolished them entirely. The ground rumbled and groaned tremors against the bombs. The debris, particularly in Alice's building, collapsed onto the crate, knocking the wood harshly sending Alice shrinking into a corner of the crate, terrified beyond human reason. It was hard to breathe because of this. The fear crept into her lungs and strangled them, leaving only short quick and silent couldn't see it, but the buildings had been reduced to ruin and nothing. The barrage of thundering bombs carried on for infinity. They carried on until night. By then she had collapsed in fear and fatigue of stress. She tried her phone. No reception or signal. She was afraid to step out the crate, so she cried silently until she drifted away to dreams and memories. Time passed, but she didn't know how long. Felt like forever infinity. She was afraid to peek open the lid. What if the bombs came back? What could she do?

All the thoughts running through her head came to a stop when a sudden tap knocked on the box.


End file.
